Emterra Group is a leader in the waste and recycling industry for operating alternative fuelled collection vehicles. Of the 550 vehicles in our fleet line-up, 35 per cent operate on Compressed Natural Gas (CNG).
Operating in a Cold Weather Climate
In 2012, we opened our first CNG fuelling station for our fleet of over 60 collection vehicles in Winnipeg, MB.
This Canadian-owned and operated fleet became the largest fleet of CNG collection trucks in the world to operate in an extreme cold weather climate.
Despite an extensive search, at the time, there were no other CNG fleets operating in a cold weather climate. Learning on-the-go and by working with our partner, Cummins Westport Inc., we successfully tackled the challenging environmental conditions, ran a fleet of over 60 CNG vehicles and set the foundation and the learning tools required, for other CNG truck operators working in extreme cold weather conditions.
Weighing the Benefits
Our commitment to CNG offers significant cost saving, in addition to the environmental impact and emission reductions. On an equivalent litre-to-litre basis, CNG is more economical than diesel fuel contributing to about 30 per cent fuel cost saving and overall, the trucks consume less fuel.
And, in our experience, CNG trucks operate with comparable horsepower and torque to diesel engines and are favored by drivers. Given the nature of our industry, CNG trucks have been well-suited for our fleets that travel fixed routes and return to a central yard for refuelling overnight.